Sept. 11 letters to the editor

The outbreak of hantavirus from Yosemite National Park has struck eight people. Already, three have died. The virus is spread by rodents, notably deer mice.

As many as 10,000 people were exposed to the virus at Camp Curry this summer, so hundreds of cases could be discovered soon.

Even the humblest of homeless cats in my neighborhood could have prevented this scourge if they had been put to work at Camp Curry. We need healthy cats in our neighborhoods.

Help the SPCA's Trap and Release program, which returns cats to their original territory after giving them veterinary attention. Once spayed and neutered, the cats defend their territory (our neighborhoods). They will destroy the mice before we are exposed to diseases.

Arnold Schoen

San Pablo

Campbell is best pick for Fremont schools

I'm glad this year my vote for Fremont school board trustee goes to someone who is more than a name on a fence to me. I'm voting for Desrie Campbell.

For more than two years I've spent dozens of evenings in a small group with Campbell. When she told us about her commitment to serve the kids of Fremont as a school board trustee, I was ready to support her.

I've seen firsthand her integrity and maturity. She knows how to use listening to craft win-win solutions for problems. She can motivate people to get things done.

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She has a pretty impressive list of accomplishments and experiences, as do many of the candidates. But above all, it's her skill as a leader that has won my vote. Visit her website Desrie4schools.com.

Connie Bush

Fremont

Need to change right-turn lane

The red-light camera at the intersection of Auto Mall Parkway and Fremont Boulevard captures more violations than any other of Fremont's 10 cameras.

Data from June 2012 shows that this camera activated 338 times. It had the lowest number of straight-through violations -- with just 21 activations during that same month. The remaining 317 violations resulted from motorists making right turns.

This particular camera focuses on westbound traffic on Auto Mall heading toward Interstate 880. The other three directions of traffic at this intersection do not require a complete stop before turning and there is no photo enforcement.

Wouldn't modifying the one right-turn lane to permit traffic to yield solve any problem? Wouldn't the issuing of tickets with fines of $550,000 per year ($660,000 after traffic school) prompt a modest re-engineering of this one lane?

There has also been a 33 percent increase in violations in 2011 over 2009. Wouldn't that also suggest that the cameras are not doing the job intended?

Maybe Fremont can do what Napa did at its one high-value right-turn camera at Highway 29 and Highway 12: In response to public outrage, it just stopped issuing right-turn tickets.

Roger Jones

Fremont

Sentence too lenient in pig abuse case

I was shocked to read about the abuse of a pig at the Alameda County Fair by three young men. They were very fortunate to receive such a mild rebuke for their conduct. They should have received stronger sentencing, including fines.

Animals shouldn't be included in the lineup of entertainment and shows at county fairs, where they're vulnerable to abuse. It's shocking these men would think it all right to enter the barn and abuse an innocent animal. I didn't read any sign of remorse on the part of these drunks, just their good luck at getting off so lightly.

Jean Rose

Richmond

Desalination much better than tunnels

Gov. Jerry Brown's tunnel is not the solution to California's water problem. It does not increase the water supply; it merely moves it. The aircraft carrier on which I returned from World War II provided plenty of tasty desalinated water for all the crew. Since that time, the process has improved immeasurably.

Desalination plants placed along the coast could provide a never-ending supply for both drinking and farming. Such plants should be an enticement to investors because the returns are ensured by supply and demand.

The water could be piped to wherever needed and stored in reservoirs. It would put many people to work in a difficult time and keep some working in maintenance. Over the years, the cost would end up much the same as the tunnel. It could supply water to replenish our shrinking aquifers. Most of our current river problems, north and south, would be solved because we would not be stealing water from them. The oceans are there. The technology is available. Why are we waiting?